The governor’s office knew in advance about the Legionella bacteria, as well; the EPA warned them, and the state chose to cover it up. And then, when it all blew up and became public, Snyder’s administration used the furor it raised as cover to shove through legislation that would further cripple democracy in Michigan.

Numerous sources have called for Snyder to resign, and today, Democratic presidential nominee candidate Bernie Sanders joined them, slamming the governor in a Twitter-released statement:

In his statement, Sanders said the elected officials knew about the situation but chose to ignore it, and added, “There are no excuses. The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned. Thousands may have been exposed to potential brain damage from lead. Gov. Snyder should resign.”

Governor Snyder should be arrested, but if we can’t arrest Republicans for high crimes against humanity (see: Bush, Cheney), then we probably can’t arrest them for poisoning thousands of mostly African-American children, either.

In addition to the statement, Sanders’ campaign also put out a number of Tweets regarding the situation in Flint:

Children in Flint will be plagued with brain damage and other health problems. The people of Flint deserve more than an apology.

The Governor has declared an emergency, activated the National Guard, and has asked the President for federal aid. The best thing for the people of Flint is that every effort is focused on solving this emergency, getting the aid needed to help the residents, and ensuring that clean drinkable water is restored to the city. Political statements, and finger pointing from political candidates not involved in finding solutions for Flint, only serve to distract from solving this crisis.”

Do you know what else distracts from finding a solution to the crisis? Covering it up, just like Snyder did.